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HyBalance inaugurates an advanced facility for the production of green hydrogen

The HyBalance project inaugurated on Monday, 3 September 2018, an advanced facility for the production of renewable hydrogen in Hobro, Denmark. The hydrogen is produced from water electrolysis, enabling the storage of renewable electricity from wind turbines and at the same time balancing the electricity grid. The hydrogen produced will be used for greening the industry and transportation sectors. The project was initiated in 2016, with funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU) and the support of the Danish EUDP program.

Leading the way

“Hybalance is a historical project for the FCH JU, being the forerunner of our large electrolyser demonstration projects and the first to reach the Megawatt-scale. We are delighted to be able to support the Hybalance project through FCH JU funding, complemented by the Danish EUDP program”, said Bart Biebuyck, the Executive Director of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, who was present at the inauguration of the facility in Hobro, Denmark.

The recently identified potential of renewable hydrogen produced by electrolysis to help decarbonise industry has led to an impressive increase in the capacity of electrolysers installed. Since 2014 , when the 1MW electrolyser Hybalance project was launched, the FCH JU has already moved to supporting a 6 MW electrolyser demonstration project in steel industry in Austria and a 10MW electrolyser demonstration project in a refinery in Germany. Both projects areat early stages of implementation.

The role of hydrogen in future energy systems

The HyBalance project addresses two main objectives of the FCH JU: increasing the efficiency of renewable hydrogen production and demonstrating hydrogen’s potential for energy storage and integration into the energy system. From the financial point of view, Hybalance will be assessing different income streams - selling the hydrogen and providing electricity grid services - in order to evaluate the business case of such innovative hydrogen energy systems.

The EU has made a commitment to a forward-looking climate policy, which puts energy security, independence and the decarbonisation of the economy at the centre. With the share of renewable energy growing in the energy mix, the need for storage and downstream use in fossil dependent sectors such as transportation has become a critical issue. Hydrogen is seen as one of the key enablers to solve these questions.

FCH JU Support

The project has received € 8 million funding from the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen 2 Joint Undertaking as well as € 2.6 million in funding from the Danish EUDP program. The budget of the project totals € 15 million.